Ann Arbor Summer Festival

A Community Tradition since 1984

A2SF champions performing arts, outdoor entertainment, and community spirit. In addition to a nearly four-week festival each June that attracts a diverse audience of over 80,000 people and offers over 200 concerts, art exhibitions, kids activities, spectacle, and film screenings, A2SF presents compelling experiences throughout the year.

Founded by Eugene Power, and established as a partnership between the City of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, early seasons emphasized classical music and theater, but have since become more popular and diverse in nature, encompassing a breadth of performance genres. Today, the June festival offers two concurrent series. The outdoor centerpiece at Top of the Park offers admission-free concerts, movies, open-air spectacles, and unique family attractions held along a beautiful U-M campus green. The indoor, ticketed series features world-class music, dance, contemporary circus, and comedy.

SAT JUNE 10

5:00PM

Jess Merritt

O&W GROVE STAGE - TOP OF THE PARK (INGALLS MALL)

Genres: Soul, Rock

Ann Arbor-based singer-songwriter Jess Merritt brings her soulful voice to Top of the Park this summer. Merritt’s music is diverse in scope, bluesy rock and power ballads mingling with songs that highlight her velvet touch of piano keys. Finding inspiration in the natural world, she draws from deep roots to deliver music that is as captivating as it is exposed, taking listeners with her on a journey of healing through feeling. Her rich, emotive voice is a vehicle for expressing the piercing highs and raw lows of life, crafting an expansively memorable appearance for audiences. Don’t miss her set at A2SF!

5:00PM

Kidzone: A2ZERO Week – City of Ann Arbor

KIDZONE TENT

The City of Ann Arbor’s A2ZERO Week celebrates all things sustainable and innovative! Join them at A2SF’s Kidzone to learn new ways you can help keep the planet healthy.  Games, interactive creativity stations, and exhibits from the University of Michigan Natural History Museum are all part of the fun!

5:00PM

The Annex: A2ZERO Week – City of Ann Arbor

THE ANNEX

The City of Ann Arbor’s A2ZERO Week celebrates all things sustainable and innovative! Join them in the Annex to engage, have fun, and learn ways to support a Greener lifestyle. Games for adults, interactive creativity stations, and exhibits by local A2ZERO Collaborators combine to showcase tech innovations, environmental adaptations, and real-world solutions to inspire climate action. Join them and learn simple steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint!

5:30PM

Retreat: SPENGA Ann Arbor

POWER CENTER LAWN

SPENGA emphasizes the three components of fitness including cardio, strength, and flexibility in one 60-minute workout. Join SPENGA Ann Arbor instructors through a combination of spin, strength and yoga (RIDE, REP and REVIVE). Retreat participants can expect 20 minutes of strength training followed by 20 minutes of yoga. Please bring a water bottle and yoga mat!

6:00PM

Elisabeth Pixley-Fink

O&W GROVE STAGE - TOP OF THE PARK (INGALLS MALL)

Genres: Folk, Indie Rock, Folk-Pop

Ann Arbor-based multi-instrumentalist Elisabeth Pixley-Fink brings her stirring indie folk to A2SF this summer. Her distinctive songwriting voice imparts a deep well of passion to her music, an enjoyably expressive combination of graceful folk and foot-tapping indie rock. Both heartbreaking and heart-making, her songs bring to mind warm summer evenings spent around the fire with your best friends. Informed by her background raised by a musicologist and a math professor in Kalamazoo, Pixley-Fink has musical ties to Portland, OR and Mexico City as well. Her upcoming full-length album Heartskin, mixed by Tim Carr (Perfume Genius, Hand Habits) pairs that delicate folk sensibility with bratty garage rock, a unique mix expressed well by the album’s title. Don’t miss the chance to experience Elisabeth Pixley-Fink’s new music for yourself!

7:00PM

Chris Canas Band

RACKHAM STAGE - TOP OF THE PARK (INGALLS MALL)

Genres: Blues, Soul, Funk

A2SF welcomes the Chris Canas Band back to A2SF this summer. Hailed as “Detroit’s Prince of the Blues,” Canas has been wowing audiences since he was 15 years old. He’s been nominated for numerous Detroit Music Awards, competed and won in numerous regional blues challenges, and made it all the way to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis several years running. The Chris Canas Band is driven to infuse fresh life into that old school blues sound while also embracing its rich traditional roots. Their sets feature a rousing mix of classic covers and hard-hitting originals in a diverse mix of genres like blues, funk, rock and roll, and soul. His latest release is the appropriately titled Detroit, eleven hard-rocking tracks featuring soulful guitar licks and powerhouse vocals. With their dynamic delivery, pulse-pounding rhythms, and relentless energy, the Chris Canas Band is sure to delight A2SF audiences this summer.

8:30PM

Shake Steady

RACKHAM STAGE - TOP OF THE PARK (INGALLS MALL)

GENRE: Funk, Soul

Asking for some rousing deep funk and heavy soul? Ypsilanti-based Shake Steady have heard the call and bring their invigorating take on classic funk and psychedelic soul back to A2SF this summer. With their modern-day approach to the forward-thinking soul music of the 1960s and 1970s, Shake Steady performs a mix of original and cover songs that quickly fills the dance floor everywhere they perform. A joyful party of good times and good vibes, audiences can expect to hear everything from Jimi Hendrix and the Clash to Sly Stone, Funkadelic, Curtis Mayfield, and more! Shake Steady continues their festive, danceable live tradition with Alec Cooper on saxophones, Ryan Dolan on trumpet, Andy Filisko on guitar, Shana Byas on drums, Sean Ike on vocals and noisemakers, and Steve Barker on bass and keys

10:00PM

A2SF Official Afterparty feat. FSQ & Dan Bain

RABBIT HOLE BY ROOT (210 S 1ST STREET)

Get ready to fall down the Rabbit Hole and immerse yourself in the ultimate after-party experience! Join us for Ann Arbor Summer Festivals’ Official Afterparty Series, taking place over 5 nights in June at our newest nightclub and cocktail bar located at 210 S 1st Street.

Follow the green lights and let us take you on a journey like no other, where herbal and root-infused cocktails, absinthe, and other delicious concoctions await. And with Krazieye Productions collaborating with us, we’re bringing in top-notch DJs from NYC, LA, Chicago, and Detroit to keep the party going long after A2SF ends.

Don’t let the festivities come to an end, come fall down the Rabbit Hole with us and dance the night away!

There will be limited pre-sale tickets to purchase so purchase now! 21+

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Festival Dates: June 9-25, 2023